This picture shows Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman speaking at a press conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1972. -AP
Rabindranath Tagore once wrote, "Enechhile sathe kore mrittuheen praan, morone tai tumi kore gele daan" (You had brought with you an endless life which you donated at your death). These lines came back to my mind while I was thinking about the upcoming hundredth birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The entire nation is eagerly waiting to celebrate Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth centenary on 17 March 2020.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman faced a great deal of ups and downs while striving for the independence and wellbeing of the people of Bangladesh. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is another name for Bangladesh. Bangladesh would not have been created if Bangabandhu was not born.
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a glorified political leader in the whole world. In the same way in the present time his daughter Sheikh Hasina is one of the most applauded leaders globally. Bangabandhu is an imperishable leader of the third world. His towering qualities are still adulated by historians and political analysts.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman strongly condemned corruption and irregularities in his speeches. He spoke against bribery, dirty money, black marketeers, hoarding, smuggling and all other forms of scams in his discourses. Referring to corrupt assemblages, he once said, "The lackeys are eating up everything."
Some people took advantage of Bangabandhu's generosity and wanted to baffle the country's progress with financial crisis and misgovernance after independence. The same anti-liberation quarter is still active and trying to jeopardize Bangladesh's economic and political stability.
Since his student life, Bangabandhu protested over every form of injustice. He never stepped back while fighting for truth and justice. We come to know about the bravery and integrity of Bangabandhu going through his autobiographic books Unfinished Memoirs and Prison Diary (Karagarer Rojnamcha).
Bangabandhu worked all his life to free the people of Bangladesh from poverty and hunger. He dreamed of a transparent Bangladesh. Our country would have by now become a prosperous one if Bangabandhu was not killed on 15 August 1975.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman envisioned a Bangladesh free of corruption. Bangladesh became independent under the charismatic leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been working with high diligence and utmost devotion to transform Bangladesh into a top-ranking country by materializing Vision 2021 and Vision 2041. Corruption obstructs development.
Therefore, the government should fight corruption with an iron hand. Corruption and prosperity cannot move ahead at a time. So, if the government wants to expedite development, then corruption will have to be wiped out.
Gross loan mishaps and monetary rackets have hammered the banking arena. A broad number of banks are undergoing liquidity crisis and capital deficit for this reason. Economists have said that the distressed plight of the banking sector will affect the country's economic growth. Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank, has recently reported that thirty seven banks are hostage to just top ten loan defaulters.
Besides loan scams and excessive financial anarchy, Bangladesh is also suffering from the highest ever trade deficit in the country's history. Trade deficit has in the meantime reached USD 8.22 billion. Import costs have by far crossed export earnings. Mammoth import bills are responsible for the burgeoning trade deficit which has put the country's economy under a lot of stress.
The stock exchanges of Bangladesh have been going through an acute fall of share prices. It is a matter of regret that companies specialized in information and communication technology (ICT) have not been yet able to secure a remarkable spot in share markets. India has brilliantly flourished in its ICT sector. Indian nationals hold top posts in Google, Microsoft, Pepsi and some other gigantic organizations. We should follow India's example to boost the advancement of our youths on ICT turf and in other spheres.
We will have to apply advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics in our readymade garments sector (RMG) for compliance with the latest trends so that we do not fall behind other countries. If we do not keep pace with the ongoing global market in terms of the RMG sector, our prospects on this terrain may be gobbled up by countries like Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia etcetera.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said in Parliament a few days ago that the country's economy is going through difficult times. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) also expressed concern over Bangladesh's economy with references to massive sums of defaulted loans and money laundering.
Remittance is now the only positive economic indicator regarding Bangladesh. Most of our neighboring countries are facing economic downtrend. We will have to take special care of our economic foothold so that we do not face a financial Greek tragedy.
At present a number of mega projects are going on across Bangladesh. These projects are important for the country but it is necessary to get these projects properly assessed to avoid over-expenditure. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed had all his country's projects reevaluated. Even he halted some projects which were over-evaluated.
Moreover, Bangladesh should stand on high alert against China's debt trap diplomacy. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Kenya, Sudan, Zimbabwe and some other countries faced mortal economic perils after getting affiliated with Chinese loans. China is also building up economic zones in Rakhine province wherefrom Rohingya people were driven away by Myanmar forces to Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, through her humanitarian approach, sheltered over one million Rohingya refugees on the soil of Bangladesh who moved away from Myanmar to escape ethnic cleansing.
There is no doubt that Bangabandhu was leading the country along the path of inclusive development based on effective agricultural and industrial policies.
But evil forces took him away and left us off track. After a long time and after a lot of sacrifice we are again back on that prudent growth path under the leadership of Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She is now implementing strong initiatives to drive Bangladesh forward in all terms. Poverty has been alleviated while child mortality rate has been reduced.
We must do our very best to ensure that this journey continues. For that to happen we must remain focused on completing the mega projects initiated by the present government in time including Padma Bridge, Special Economic Zones, major power plants, deep seaport, metro rail, up gradation of rail and water ways and, of course, developing digital infrastructures to promote e-commerce. We must also remain mindful of promoting skills and digital entrepreneurship to address the formidable challenge of unemployment among educated youths.
Based on this strong foundation, we will certainly be able to celebrate befittingly the golden jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh in 2021 and as well as complete our mission of transforming Bangladesh into an upper-middle economy by 2031 and a developed economy by 2041 as aspired by the Prime Minister within the greater context of Delta Plan 2100. For this, we must also spotlight on socio-political and financial stability at any cost. Only inclusive development can help us turn this grand vision into reality.
The government should take up tough and immediate steps to free all sectors, particularly the financial one, from corruption, nepotism and political influence. Bangabandhu fought all his life for transparency, equal rights and socio-political integrity. We cannot implement Bangabandhu's dreams without eradicating graft and anomalies. We must work for the establishment of an ambience where democracy and mutual respect can prevail. This is how our expectations regarding Mujib Borsho can be executed.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman addressed the passing out parade of Bangladesh Military Academy on 11 January 1974. He said to the cadets, "Mukhe hashi, buke bol, teje vora mon, manush hoite hobe manush jakhan (Become real humans with smile on your faces, strength in your hearts and exhilaration in your minds.)
The writer is a diplomat, entrepreneur, author and Chairman of Editorial Board of The Asian Age
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